Newhouse Introduces Legislation to Protect Students, Fund School Resource Officers

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Rep. Dan Newhouse (R-WA) released the following statement after introducing the School Resource Officer Act alongside Reps. Chris Jacobs (R-NY), Elise Stefanik (R-NY), Don Bacon (R-NE), and Mike Bost (R-IL). This legislation would allow law enforcement agencies to hire more school resource officers, law enforcement officers responsible for safety and crime prevention in schools.

“I am committed to ensuring Central Washington students have the best learning environment available to them, which is why I have consistently advocated for school choice and more parental input in their child’s education,” said Rep. Newhouse. “This legislation goes a step further by directing additional funding toward school resource officers, who play a critical role in making students feel safe and are responsible for developing school safety plans. This important legislation protects our students and communities, while ensuring that law enforcement agencies’ have the resources they need in order to provide this service to their communities.”

Click here to view the full text of the School Resource Officer Act.

Background:

The School Resource Officer Act notably has the following provisions:

• Authorization of Appropriations: Authorizes the Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) program in the Department of Justice at $500,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2023 through 2026.
• Reserves Funding Specifically for School Resource Officers: Not less than 30 percent of funding for hiring programs within the COPS program will be used to pay the salaries and benefits of school resource officers.
• Awarded Grant Terms: Federal funds may provide up to 75 percent of salary and benefits of full-time officers with a 25 percent minimum local cash match requirement. Maximum federal share cap is increased to $125,000 per officer position.

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